Data reveals the top foreign shareholders in first half of 2025
Foreign ownership of UK rental property companies has reached a record high this year. At the same time, average rents have fallen for the first time in five years.
Analysis of Companies House data by Hamptons found that one in five buy-to-let companies established in 2025 have at least one non-UK national shareholder, up from 13% in 2016. The proportion has risen in nine of the past 10 years.
Indian nationals formed the largest group of foreign shareholders in the first half of 2025, setting up 684 new buy-to-let companies. Nigerians followed closely with 647, ahead of Polish (473) and Irish (ranking fourth) investors. While EU nationals made up 65% of foreign shareholders in 2016, their share has dropped to 49% this year, as investors from South Asia and Africa gained prominence.
London remains the main hub for foreign ownership, with 27% of new buy-to-let companies registered in the capital. Over half of newly established companies in Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham were foreign-owned. However, the fastest growth in foreign ownership has occurred outside the capital, particularly in the East Midlands, West Midlands and Scotland. Runnymede recorded the highest share nationwide, with 59% of new companies owned by non-UK nationals.
The report has also found that rental prices have edged down. The average rent for a newly let property in Great Britain fell 0.2% year-on-year in July to £1,373 per month – the first annual decline since August 2020. However, this remains £350 higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Greater London saw the sharpest drop, with rents down 3.0% – its seventh consecutive monthly fall. Wales, the North East, and Yorkshire and the Humber also posted annual declines, while the East Midlands, West Midlands and South West recorded the strongest increases.
Renewal rents, in contrast, rose by 4.5% year-on-year, with the North West seeing the highest growth at 7.2%. The gap between new let and renewal rents has narrowed to just £83, the smallest in four years, as landlords seek to align existing tenancies with market rates and inflation.
“After five years of relentless rent rises, the market has paused for breath,” said Aneisha Beveridge, Hamptons’ head of research. “While demand may be softening, the underlying cost pressures haven’t gone away.”
